Terry Gilliam attempting doomed ‘Don Quixote’ … for the third time

Terry Gilliam, a glutton for punishment, is trying once again to mount a production of The Man Who Killed Don Quixote.

According to Variety, Gilliam and producer Adrian Guerra will meet with actors later this week, aiming to start production in early 2015.

The shoot will reportedly take place in Spain’s Canary Islands, provided it isn’t entirely wiped out by a natural disaster before then, which, this being the location of an upcoming Terry Gilliam film, is a definite possibility.

Gilliam attempted to make Don Quixote back in 2000 with Jean Rochefort in the title role and Johnny Depp as Sancho Panza. Flash floods, Rochefort’s ailing health, and other Gilliam-esque curses doomed the production, though it did inspire a doco, Lost in La Mancha.

The picture was almost restaged in 2008, with Robert Duvall and Ewan McGregor in the lead roles, though financing never came through.

This third attempt – a total rewrite of the previous iterations – will be handily funded by Spanish tax breaks, subsidies, and TV licensing details.

Break a leg, Gilliam. (Yes, when it comes to his films, we’re too superstitious to even wish him g*** l***.)